He turned the wheel to pull out onto the street. Pain shot into his elbow. He clenched his fist and steered through a turn. There was no point rushing back to the inn. He wasn’t going to be any more help to Mandy today. Why would she want anything to do with him? Not only was he was useless to her at the bed-and-breakfast, he was still doing the one thing she had asked him not to do. He was still trying to find Nathan. But Danny couldn’t let it go. If he could just accomplish one thing, meet one goal head on, maybe he could move forward. Quitting definitely wasn’t going to help.

Driving aimlessly, Danny headed away from town. He needed some time alone. Thoughts of his prospects filled his head. What did his future hold? What kind of a job was he going to get with only one good hand? Sullivan’s Tavern could only support so many family members. His only other marketable skill was fixing cars, but his bum hand slowed him down too much for that to be a viable career. It was probably best that Mandy wasn’t interested in him. He didn’t even know what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. How could he contemplate a relationship? He glanced at the dashboard clock. More time had passed than he’d intended. Such was the time-sucking nature of a pity party. It was time to meet the insurance adjuster at Reed’s house. As Danny turned onto the interstate, his eyes were drawn to the mountains on the horizon. How could a place so peaceful harbor so much evil and madness?

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The sound of wood scraping woke Kevin. He opened his eyes to dusty daylight. Lifting his head over his son’s body, curled in his arms, Kevin scanned the barn interior. No people in sight. The double doors were ajar. Fresh air flooded the cage. Against his chest, Hunter’s rib cage expanded with each reassuring breath. But they’d been without food or water for two days, maybe more. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed. Exhaustion and the drugs they’d been given had bent reality like a fun-house mirror.

He recognized that fear should be pounding through his veins, but dehydration had sapped his body’s ability to respond. He stretched a leg out. His foot encountered something. He turned his head and squinted. Two meal bars and a liter-size bottle of water had been placed in the cage during the night.